Single-cycle nonlinear optics

Nonlinear optics plays a central role in the advancement of optical science and laser- based technologies. We report on the confinement of the nonlinear interaction of light with matter to a single wave cycle and demonstrate its utility for time- resolved and strong- field science. The electric field of 3.3- femtosecond, 0.72- micron laser pulses with a controlled and measured waveform ionizes atoms near the crests of the central wave cycle, with ionization being virtually switched off outside this interval. Isolated sub- 100- attosecond pulses of extreme ultraviolet light ( photon energy similar to 80 electron volts), containing similar to 0.5 nanojoule of energy, emerge from the interaction with a conversion efficiency of similar to 10(-6). These tools enable the study of the precision control of electron motion with light fields and electron- electron interactions with a resolution approaching the atomic unit of time (similar to 24 attoseconds).